A 26-year-old pregnant woman from a Hindu family ended her life in Sangli district, Maharashtra, on 6th June. The case of suicide has shaken West Maharashtra. Her father described it as an unfortunate outcome of the pressure of following Christianity, harassment over dowry, and physical assault.
In the last few days, over a dozen protests were held. Thousands of protesters took to the streets, shouting slogans and demanding justice for Rutuja Rajge.
Rutuja Rajge was seven months pregnant. She had married into a family from the same Dhangar caste in an arranged marriage. According to media reports, her father, Dr Chandrakant Laxman Patil, said that the groom’s family had concealed one critical truth that they were practising Christians; something never disclosed before the wedding.
Rutuja wed Sukumar Suresh Rajge, a Merchant Navy officer, on 24th May, 2021, in a Hindu Dhangar ceremony in Malgaon village of Sangli. Dr Patil claims he was given to understand that the groom’s family believed in the same religion and traditions. But within weeks of the union, disturbing signs began to appear.
On the occasion of Vat Pournima festival in June 2021, Rutuja’s mother-in-law, Alka Rajge, prevented her from conducting Hindu rituals. Subsequently, when Dr Patil invited the couple to his residence, they declined, reportedly after Sukumar’s father replied they would come only if offered a gold ring.
Pressure to convert and early harassment
During the following months, Rutuja was forced to abandon her Hindu religion and embrace Christian rituals. For her first Diwali after marriage, she was forced to join church worship and was dissuaded from celebrating Hindu festivals.
During a housewarming party for Sukumar’s new apartment in Pune in November 2021, Dr Patil’s family members discovered that Christian rituals had already taken place, and Hindu visitors were dealt with disdain.
The harassment went on in January 2022, when Rutuja’s mother-in-law, Alka, purportedly blamed Rutuja for Sukumar’s bad luck, including having his phone go into a ship toilet, claiming it was Jesus’s revenge for not praying to him.
As of April 2023, the tension had increased. Rutuja was forced to go to church in Miraj, Khatibnagar, and when she did not, she was emotionally and physically abused.
Temporary relief, but old pressures return
Worried for the safety of his daughter, Dr Patil brought Rutuja to her parental house in Gundewadi, where she remained for a few months. A meeting held in July 2023 with Sukumar and his family members, and elderly people from the village, resulted in Sukumar making guarantees that he would treat her well.
But within days of being back at her husband’s house, Rutuja is said to have informed her father that Christian priests used to be regular callers and pressure to convert had begun again.
Abuse during pregnancy
The harassment is said to have continued even after Rutuja had become pregnant. In March 2024, she was scolded by her in-laws after she attended a Hindu temple to watch her brother get married.
Between September 2024 and February 2025, Rutuja travelled with Sukumar on his vessel. She had come back pregnant, but her father claimed to experience no happiness or affection, merely increased demands for cash. On 17 February 2025, Dr Patil sent ₹50,000 to his daughter through PhonePe, but the demands continued unabated.
In March, when Rutuja had gone to a conventional Kakan Choli ceremony at her maternal uncle’s place, the event had been allegedly derided by her in-laws, who said such Hindu rituals had no place within their residence.
By May 2025, Sukumar was allegedly insisting on taking Christian pregnancy rituals (garbha sanskar). When Rutuja protested, Sukumar allegedly attacked her on May 22. On their wedding anniversary a few days later, he allegedly drank heavily and made a scene at a relative’s home and then attacked her again when she objected.
Dr Patil and a cousin went to see Rutuja on 3rd June, 2025. Sukumar and his parents were at church, and she was all alone. She seemed disturbed and informed her father that Alka had taken all her jewellery, saying the Patil family had not contributed enough during the wedding. She added that she was being instructed to ask her father for money to finance their house.
Rutuja added that, was being accused by her mother-in-law of “destroying Sukumar’s life” because she had not converted to Christianity, an accusation levied just after Sukumar’s phone fell into a commode accidentally.
Three days after that, on the night of 6th June, Sukumar called Dr Patil to inform him that Rutuja had been found hanging from a ceiling fan in her bedroom. Upon arrival, the family discovered her dead body. Together with her, the unborn child she was carrying had also passed away.
Police action and arrests
Following Dr Patil’s complaint and what the police claim is a suicide note written by Rutuja, an FIR was registered at MIDC Police Station. The case was lodged under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (abetment of suicide), Section 85 (hurt by husband or relatives) and Sections 35(2) and 35(5) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
Rutuja’s husband, Sukumar, mother-in-law Alka, and father-in-law Suresh were all accused and have been arrested. Police have confirmed the presence of a suicide note.
Public outrage and demands for justice
The case has also triggered protests by women’s groups, legal activists, and Hindu groups. Most are calling for strict enforcement of laws against religious coercion in intermarriage and against so-called “crypto-conversion”, instances wherein a family conceals its real faith when fixing up the marriages.
Dr Patil describes his daughter’s death as not a spontaneous choice but the culmination of years of constant harassment, humiliation, and religious pressure. “She attempted to adapt, she attempted to make the marriage succeed,” he explained to the press, “but they crushed her spirit. And ultimately, they took the life of my daughter and my grandchild before either had a chance to fulfil their life.
The investigation is still underway, and authorities indicate that more information will come out as they investigate the suicide note and other evidence.